The Riptide Report: Tampa Bay Rowdies vs RIFC - 5/17/2025

RIFC came away from Al Lang with 3 points tonight.  It was a slow start for our boys in amber and blue, but they eventually got a good hold of things and came away 3-0 winners.  The vibes are immaculate as we ended a stretch of 5 games in 15 days with back to  back wins.  As always, here are my rapid-fire takeaways from this one:

Clay Still Scores Bangers

Clay Holstad Golstad. What a player. When he isn't using his endless energy to dominate the midfield, he's capable at any time of producing moments of magic. And we witnessed yet another one tonight. Deep into stoppage time of a first half that was largely dominated by the Rowdies, Clay found himself with an opportunity to shoot from just outside the box. He unleashed a shot that blew past the goalkeeper, who had no chance at keeping it out. It was an ideal way to end the first half for RIFC after having been under so much pressure in their own end of the field

Zach and Noah Can Score Bangers Too

Zach Herivaux. What a player. Doesn't have a cool nickname like Clay, but he's fantastic nonetheless. He saw what Clay did in the first half and decided he should score a banger of his own. In the 73rd minute, he whipped a shot from the goalkeeper's left and it caressed the far post and rippled the back of the net. It gave RIFC an insurmountable 2-0 lead. I've been a little bit critical of Zach so far this season as I don't think he's been at his best. This was easily his best game this year and it isn't solely because of his goal. I thought he paired really well with Clay in the middle of the park and they both put in some good work on all ends of the field.

And then we have to talk about Noah. He too can score from outside the box.  The Tampa Bay defenders foolishly backed off Noah in the 87th minute and gave him ample opportunity to fire away.  He took full advantage and buried the team's 3rd goal to finish off a fantastic result.  It should give Noah the confidence he needs to start producing like he did down the stretch last season.  I'm thrilled for him that he got off the mark

Koke Saves That

We're all huge Jackson Lee fans here at Tide Talk, but we do also love Koke.  And I think there's an argument to be made that this was one of Koke's best games for RIFC.  He made some great saves to help keep the team in this one early.  Tampa Bay dominated the first 15 minutes of this game and were the better team overall for the entire 1st half.  RIFC were under a ton of pressure defensively but rose to the task.  Koke did really well to get the clean sheet and deserved the bit of luck he got in the 2nd half when a rocket from Woobens Pacius rattled the crossbar and bounced in front of the goal line.  He made 5 saves according to the stat sheet but it felt like more.  The backline also helped out with some great positioning to clear away chances.  Overall, back to back clean sheets are great to see.  Bring on the donuts

Up Next

It's a return home to Centreville Bank Stadium next Saturday for a meeting with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.  Here at Tide Talk, we'll be back tomorrow night with a Postmatch Pod and Timmy will have his player ratings coming up, so be on the lookout for that.  I will be here later in the week to preview Saturday's game.  Until then, UP THE TIDE!